Claimed
by tinkerbell265
Summary: After reuniting with Beth, Daryl takes the responsibility of protecting her from Joe, Len, and the rest of his group. Takes place somewhere around 4x15. One-Shot... For now.


**A/N**: I know this isn't what my followers were hoping to see. (Right now they are pretty much screaming for me to go back to the Assassin's Creed Fandom…) But Right now I'm _OBSESSED_ with TWD and the Bethyl pairing. Like it's pretty much taking up my life… And we all have to wait till OCTOBER to see where the heck she is! Anyway, here is my take on how episode 4x15 _should_ have gone. I'm not going to go into huge detail over the show and episode… This is assuming you've watched it or at least seen enough scenes to keep up with me. :D

**Pairing**: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene (Bethyl.)

**Genre**: Romance/Angst.

**Warnings**: Language, Sexual Themes, Innuendo, An Overall Crassness, AU, and Even Though _This Has Been Beta-ed_ There _Will_ be Unavoidable Grammatical Errors.

**Relax**: No Rape.

...

_Claimed_

...

* * *

"Biter!" Joe snapped through a gruff whisper as he raised his rifle.

The sun was slowly making it's decent behind the trees, leaving the train tracks barely visible to the group. With the limited clarity, Daryl stepped high to avoid any loosened ties and prevent himself from falling face first on the rails while pressing his crossbow against his shoulder, aiming directly at the walker.

"What are you waiting for?" Len started. "_Shoot_ it."

"And draw in a herd with the gunfire?" He shot back rather impatiently.

"Fine. _I'll_ drop this bitch!" Len bit before pulling back his bowstring.

At the word _bitch,_ Daryl blinked and watched as the walker staggered towards the group. This particular _biter_, as Joe commonly referred to them, was in fact a _female_. Her clothes were torn, her hair was long and knotted – she was practically caked with dried blood and grime from head to toe. There was a moment he felt sorry for her… He knew she needed to be put down, being in her given state, but Beth had a way of distorting his thinking. Even though she wasn't with him anymore, every course of action he had taken from that night on had been a reflection of her.

These things were people once and Beth had taught him to respect that.

"_Claimed_!" Daryl suddenly shouted, a bit louder than needed, and just in time before Len could release his bowstring.

Slowly Len lowered his bow and stared at Daryl before asking, "Why the fuck would you want to claim one of those lame-brains?"

He didn't answer… Adjusting the strap on his crossbow, Daryl tossed the weapon over his shoulder and took his knife from its holster, readying his stance in case she decided to lunge at him. When he was prepared, he stepped forward, gripping the blade defensively, and warily approached the walker.

It wasn't until she was a few paces off that he recognized her… Through the filth he found blue eyes, pale skin, and light blonde hair.

"B-Beth?" He whispered, barely lowering his knife.

Almost as if she recognized his voice, she reached out to touch him but he took a cautious step back towards Joe and the group, just in case she had turned.

Then a moment had passed where he could have sworn she uttered his name. Just above a whisper, he heard it again.

"_Beth_…"

"_Daryl_…"

This time he was certain she had spoken. Her voice was dry and grated against his nerves; it was nothing compared to what it had been – the light, innocent tone was gone. What had she been through?

It wasn't until she blacked out and crashed knees first against the tracks that he grabbed her upper arm to keep her from completely plunging to the ground. Touching her had never been something that came easily for him. There had been those times at the mortuary where he was comfortable enough to lightly touch her arm when he wanted her to go a certain direction or even carry her from room to room after she injured her leg but that was different. It was a place they had made a temporary home together. It was as if they were the last two people in the world and the rules just didn't apply anymore.

He couldn't have been more wrong. Daryl had dropped his guard and because of it, he lost the last thing that was holding his fragile world together. He could still hear the tires screeching as if it were happening now… Whoever had taken Beth, was probably out looking for her right now.

His grip bit harder into her bicep before putting his blade back in the holster and pitching forward to scoop her up and over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Joe called frantically. "That bitch is going to tear into you!"

"She ain't dead!" Daryl hollered back.

"_Hell_! That ain't fair!" Len cut in angrily as he watched Daryl carry Beth's lifeless body towards them. "Had I known she wasn't some useless walker, I'd have claimed that whore."

Daryl's eyes narrowed lethally. "This one's _mine_…"

"Daryl's got this one fair and square." Joe sneered, keeping his eyes trained on the girl. "But maybe we could all work something out…"

"_She's claimed_." Daryl repeated hotly, not liking the way the entire group was staring at her as if he'd just thrown a piece of meat in front of them.

"Joe! You can't just let him-"

"We'll discuss this in the morning, Len. We need to find shelter before we run into a herd of biters." Joe finally snapped. "Come on…"

Dragging his rifle alongside his leg, Joe pressed forward signaling the rest of the group to follow, and left Daryl and Len to glare at one another…

Finally breaking the tension, Len smirked and waggled his eyebrows before sidestepping Daryl to follow after Joe. It was just like the incident with that damn rabbit a couple days ago. Len wanted something that Daryl had and would probably jump through hoops to get it. He had just gotten Beth back and he wasn't about to lose her again. He'd rip out throats if he had to.

"_I'll bet there's a bitch… Got you all messed up."_

Len was right… There was a bitch. And she _did_ have him mentally and emotionally fucked up.

* * *

**A/N:**

Thanks for giving this a try! I'm very new to The Walking Dead Fandom and I hope this little One-Shot was worth your time.

It's short but it makes me feel better… about _stuff_ and _things_. *_Sobs_*

Reviews are _highly_ appreciated! I hope this wasn't devastatingly predictable!


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